Akio Toyoda Getting Ready For A DC Grilling
Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda was already getting ready to “visit the United States over massive recalls of its vehicles,” reported the Nikkei [sub]. Japan’s transport minister Seiji Maehara told U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos that Toyoda would be dispatched to DC. There, he would be ready to “explain the recall problems to the U.S. Congress if asked.”
In a later report, the Nikkei said Toyoda’s trip has been pushed back “to early March.” Toyoda was ready to leave “Japan for Washington as early as Wednesday, but the heavy snowfall in the U.S. capital city ended up delaying those plans. The U.S. House of Representatives has scheduled committee hearings on Toyota’s problems for Feb. 24 and 25, while the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing March 2.”
So far, Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota Motor North America, was supposed to appear at the hearings. Today, Representative Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, said he’s e is inviting Akio Toyoda to meet members of Congress. Issa also said he is urging his committee’s chairman to invite Toyoda to the February 24 meeting.
Most think that Inaba would be the better witness, but both governments apparently think it’s more appropriate to send the boss himself.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Anytime someone says "Government Motors", I stop listening. And I work for Ford.
I can't make out what is to be gained here so I can't predict what the offense party (congress) will assert. Other than congress posturing as not sleeping at the switch, which they are of course. As always.
>>>"Anytime someone says “Government Motors”, I stop listening. And I work for Ford"
Ive heard that a backroom deal has been brokered to satisfy the US Congressmen. Several dozen of the older congressmen will be roused from their sleep in order that their Depends be changed. These diapers will be filled with defective American made parts such as GM head gaskets, GM dimmer switches, twisted GM window regulators, extra dim Chrysler headlights, flammable Ford wiring harnesses and melted Ford alternators. A B-17 bomber will be chartered to take these congressmen and their diapers on a flight over Toyota City where they will be awakened long enough to throw these diapers and defective parts out of the plane and hopefully to land a few of them on rooftops of the residents of T.C. Mr Toyoda has apparently agreed to this humiliation in the hope that it will allow the congressmen to come away satisfied that they have shown their ageing yellow teeth to the Evil Empire. The only other choice offered to Mr Toyoda was a tar and feathering but he wasn't up for it.